In leadership circles, wisdom often comes wrapped in strategies, frameworks, and metrics. But sometimes, it arrives in simpler, sweeter forms—like a child’s laughter at breakfast, or a story told across generations.
Few people capture that blend of heart and insight like Ted Page, author of Good Grandpa: Stories from the Heart of Grandfatherhood. A creative entrepreneur and longtime branding expert, Page invites readers to consider how the tenderness of family life can shape the toughness of leadership. “We’ve solved so many problems as humanity,” he told me. “We go to the moon, we decode DNA—let’s make them the greatest generation of all time.”
Page’s professional journey began in 1980s New York City as a junior copywriter for McCann Erickson. “Not too long after that, we had our first child in Brooklyn and I started my own marketing firm called Captains of Industry,” he recalled. “We made an early name for ourselves doing what they used to call viral video on the web.” His creative ventures eventually expanded into branding work for clients like MIT Sloan and leading clean energy companies. “I’m still very active with the firm, Captains of Industry,” he said. “And having a ball at 66.”
But the seed for Good Grandpa was planted not in a boardroom—but at a Valentine’s Day gathering. “My daughter had us over for a Valentine’s Day event,” Page said. “She handed us Valentine’s cards, and inside was a sonogram. I was just so blown away.” That moment, he said, shifted his whole perspective. “I thought about my parents as being the greatest generation, and I considered my future grandchildren and thought, why can’t they be the greatest?”
The book that followed grew out of a blog—“Good Grandpa, as opposed to the Bad Grandpa movies,” he joked—where other grandfathers began sharing their own stories. “That’s when it really got interesting,” Page said. “It wasn’t about how-tos. It was storytelling.”
Creative Spirit, Across Generations
For Page, leadership—whether in business or family—is inseparable from creativity. “Our philosophy at my agency has always been, if you think hard enough about a challenge and get creative, you can solve just about anything,” he said. He told the story of a tough period during the Great Recession. “I was really frustrated because no one was hiring us for a solar energy account. One day I said, if we don’t land a solar account by December, I’m going to eat my shorts.”
The “eat my shorts” video challenge went viral. “Within two weeks, I had the head of the top clean energy company in Massachusetts in my office,” Page recalled. “He said, anyone crazy enough to promise to eat his shorts is someone I need to talk with.”
That same creativity, Page says, fuels his interactions with his grandchildren. “I take that creative approach with our grandkids all the time just to spark their imagination,” he said. “They’re going to grow up in a world where so many jobs are taken over by AI. So, instilling that sense of the love of creativity—that’s the philosophy.”
Page draws much of his inspiration from interviewing other grandfathers—including veterans and faith leaders. “I had an opportunity to speak to grandfathers who were leaders of each branch of the military,” he said. “One retired three-star general told me, ‘I’m a firm believer in leading by example.’ Instead of preaching to our kids or grandkids, I realized that I needed to change first.”
That insight, Page believes, applies far beyond family life. “These veterans were still serving in some way,” he said. “They’re serving their communities as an extension of their families.”
Page is now channeling that spirit of service into a new project. “I want to offer creative writing seminars for veterans first,” he said. “A lot of these stories are very emotional and deeply moving, and it’s therapeutic for people to write things down.”
Chocolate for Breakfast and Other Lessons
When asked how being a grandfather differs from being a parent, Page laughed. “By the time we’re grandparents, most of us don’t have the day-to-day responsibilities,” he said. “As the grandpa, there’s a sense of equanimity, a sense of calm.” Then, with a grin: “I give my grandkids chocolate for breakfast. Not the entire breakfast—it’s all part of a complete breakfast—but it sounds like, ‘Hey, I love you, and life is sweet.’”
That sense of warmth is balanced by wisdom. “One of my grandsons was going to have a lemonade stand,” Page said. “I asked him, ‘How much are you going to charge?’ He hadn’t thought about it, so I taught him about cost of goods and profit. He did the math, figured out his profit, and then decided to make a donation to the local fire department. Maybe entrepreneurship is something best learned when you’re a kid—like a language.”
When asked what he hopes his grandchildren will remember about him, Page’s answer was immediate. “I want to be present in their lives through the positive experiences we’ve had,” he said. “And to understand how important it is to be kind to other people.”
He added with a chuckle, “I’m six foot six, but that didn’t help me get through the tough parts of my life. What helps you get through is being nice to people. Because when the chips are down, they’re the ones who are there for you.”
Ted Page reminds us that leadership isn’t defined by titles or achievements—it’s measured in presence, patience, and love. The quiet example of a grandparent can echo longer than any speech or slogan. As Page put it, “If young people truly know how much they’re loved, that creates belonging.”
In a world that often measures worth by speed and productivity, Page invites us to consider a different metric: how well we show up for the people who matter most.
Whether you’re a grandparent, a parent, or simply someone who values connection, Ted Page can remind you to see the people you love not just as who they are, but as who they are becoming.